Ambassador
“Collaborating with other educators across the nation to increase my knowledge and experience with regards to the [ARTEFFECT] program is something about which I am deeply passionate. Participating in the webinars throughout the year will bring new energy to my work with students.”
Melissa J. Sylvester is a visual art educator at Yarmouth High School in Yarmouth, Maine. Having taught for 26 years, 24 of them at Yarmouth High School, she is a passionate visual arts educator who thrives on instilling a lifelong love for learning and creativity in her students. She has presented at a variety of state and national conferences and serves as Maine’s state liaison for Milken Family Foundation. In her first year of teaching, she was Maine's recipient for the National Sallie Mae First Year Teacher Award. Soon after completing her first Master of Education in 2008, she earned additional Master’s credits at the University of Florida and her National Board Certification in 2012, which she updated in 2022. Over the past seven years, she has been engaging her students in ARTEFFECT. She continues to inspire her students with stories of “unsung” individuals who have done extraordinary things to positively impact society. She was a 2015 Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Fellow, a 2005 Milken Educator, 2003 National Semiconductor Internet Innovator Award recipient, and a 1998 Sallie Mae First Class Teacher Awardee.
